Sue Randall

Summary

Marion Burnside Randall (October 8, 1935 – October 26, 1984),[1] who acted under the name Sue Randall, was an American television actress whose entire seventeen-year career (1950 to 1967) was spent in episodes of TV series, and one film (1957). Her best known role was the kindly Miss Alice Landers, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's elementary school teacher in the CBS and ABC sitcom Leave It to Beaver.

Sue Randall
Randall in 1964
Born
Marion Burnside Randall

(1935-10-08)October 8, 1935
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 26, 1984(1984-10-26) (aged 49)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Years active1955–1967
Spouses
  • Peter Blake Powell
  • James J. McSparron
Children2

Early life and education edit

Born in Philadelphia, Sue Randall was born Marion Burnside Randall, the younger child of Marion Burnside (née Heist) and Roland Rodrock Randall, a prominent real-estate consultant.[2][3] She began acting on stage at the age of 10 in a production of the Alden Park Players.[4]

In 1953, she completed her early education at the Lankenau School for Girls in the Germantown District of Philadelphia and then moved to New York, where she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating with honors.[4][5]

Film and television career edit

 
Randall with Jim Hutton in "And When the Sky Was Opened", a 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone

Randall's credited TV debut came in the 1955 episode "Golden Victory" of the series Star Tonight.[citation needed] She was one of the actresses who had the role of Diane Emerson in the television version of Valiant Lady (1953-1957).[6] In 1954, she also portrayed Diane Emerson on the CBS drama Woman with a Past.[6]: 1189 

Randall appeared in other television productions before portraying Ruthie Saylor, a reference-desk worker, in the 1957 film Desk Set starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Randall's recurring role as a teacher on Leave It to Beaver spanned the years 1958 to 1962, when the actress was in her twenties. She appeared in 28 episodes of the popular sitcom after replacing Diane Brewster, who played Miss Canfield during the first season and in the 1980s television movies based on the series. Randall's first appearance as Miss Landers was in the Leave It to Beaver episode "Ward's Problem", which originally aired on October 16, 1958.[citation needed]

Primarily, Randall's roles on television were as a featured actor or supporting character, often in Westerns. For example, she was cast as Kathy O'Hara, an aspiring concert pianist, in the episode "The Mysterious Stranger" (February 17, 1959) on the ABC/Warner Brothers series Sugarfoot. She was cast in "Judgment Day" (October 11, 1959) on the ABC series The Rebel as Elaine, the daughter of a man sentenced to hang.[citation needed]

In the late 1950s, producers cast Randall as a co-star with actress Theodora Davitt in a proposed weekly sitcom titled Up on Cloud Nine.[7] A pilot for this comedy was completed, but no potential sponsors opted to buy or underwrite the series about "the daffy misadventures" of two airline stewardesses.[8] In the pilot episode's storyline, described by one later reviewer as "painfully unfunny", Randall and Davitt's characters insult passengers and frighten them while in flight by mistakenly preparing their plane for a crash landing.[9]

Randall appeared in other series, including CBS's The Twilight Zone, Have Gun – Will Travel, Gunsmoke (as “Laura” in S7E9's “Millie”, and as "Effie Strayhorn" in S6E14's "The Cook"), Bat Masterson, The Aquanauts, Pete and Gladys, Ichabod and Me, and Hennesey, NBC's Bonanza and The Man and the Challenge, and ABC's The Real McCoys, The Dakotas, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive, and The Rifleman. In addition, she made three guest appearances on Sea Hunt in 1961. That same year she also guest starred as Ellen in the episode "The Secret Life of James Thurber", based on the works of the American humorist James Thurber, in the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. She made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, both times as the defendant: Betty Wilkins in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker," and Arnell Stiller, alias Amy Scott, in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Garrulous Go-Between".

Randall appeared also in five episodes of the syndicated western anthology Death Valley Days. Her last performance in that series was in 1966, when she was cast as Carrie Huntington in the episode "The Courtship of Carrie Huntington".

Personal life edit

Randall was married to Peter Blake Powell, with whom she had two children. She later married James J. McSparron, to whom she was still married at the time of her death.[2]

Later years and death edit

Randall retired from acting in 1967 after performing in the episode "Heaven Help Us" on the televised anthology series Vacation Playhouse.[10] Two years later, she left California and returned to Philadelphia, where she soon began working in administrative roles with various charitable organizations.[2] She participated in telethons and other local events to raise money to support programs and research battling arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and blindness, and providing poor children with a better education.[11]

Randall died of lung and larynx cancer at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia on October 26, 1984, at age 49.[4]

Filmography edit

Year Title Role Notes
1950 A Wonderful Life College Girl Holding Newspaper Short film (uncredited)
1955 Star Tonight S1.E17 - "Golden Victory"
1955 Ponds Theater S2.E37 - "Life and Taxes"
1955-1956 Valiant Lady Diane Emerson Soames #3 510 episodes
1957 Playhouse 90 Kitty Verdun S1.E26 - "Where's Charley?"
1957 Desk Set Ruthie Saylor Only full-length film role
1957, 1958 Matinee Theatre S2.E213 - "The Awakening"

S3.E129 - "The Canterville Ghost"
1958 Bronco Hope Cabot S1.E1. - "The Besieged"
1958 Steve Canyon Sgt. Addie Malone S1.E5 - "Operation Jettison"
1958-1962 Leave It to Beaver Miss Alice Landers 28 episodes
1958 The Millionaire Kate S5.E11 - "The Newman Johnson Story"
1959, 1960 77 Sunset Strip Chick Hammons

Ruth Douglas

Alice Smith Gallante
S1.E13 - "Hit And Run"

S1.E34 - "Strange Girl in Town"

S3.E13 - "The Affairs of Adam Gallente"
1959 Sugarfoot Kathy O'Hara S2.E12 - "The Mysterious Stranger"
1959 The Rifleman Lucy Hallager S1.E40 - "The Mind Reader"
1959 The Real McCoys Susan Meade S3.E10 - "The Girl at Mom's Place"
1959 General Electric Theater Bride's Friend S8.E4 - "Night Club"
1959 The Rebel Elaine Randall S1.E2 - "Judgement"
1959 M Squad Mrs. Jim Wilson S3.E7 - "Mama's Boy" (uncredited)
1959 Wagon Train Mrs. Sherman S3.E12 - "The St. Nicolas Story"
1959 Grand Jury Union Boss's Daughter S1.E13 " Off the Record"
1959 Have Gun - Will Travel Anna Ainslee S3.E5 - "Shot by Request"
1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966 Death Valley Days Bessie Riggs

Martha Clark

Virginia Slade

Julie

Mary Ann Duncan

Carrie Huntington
S8.E2 - ""Gates Ajar" Morgan"

S11.E12 - "The Private Mint of Clark, Gruber and Co."

S12.E6 - "The Man Who Died Twice"

S12.E25 - "See the Elephant and Hear the Owl"

S13.E11 - "A Bargain is for Keeping"

S14.E18 - "The Courtship of Carrie Huntington"
1959, 1964 The Twilight Zone Nurse

Millie
S1.E11 - "And When the Sky Was Opened"

S5.E20 - "From Agnes - With Love"
1959, 1961 Hennesey Linda Shafer

Gloria Landis
S1.E13 - "The Matchmaker"

S2.E24 - "The Green-Eyed Monster"
1960 Have Gun - Will Travel Ruth S3.E17 - "The Day of the Bad Man"
1960 The Man and the Challenge Phyllis Wright S1.E19 - "The Windowless Room"
1960 New Comedy Showcase Lois S1.E1 - "You're Only Young Twice"
1960, 1964 Perry Mason Betty Wilkins

Amy Scott
S4.E3 - "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker"

S7.E22 - The Case of the Garrulos Go-Between"
1960 Bat Masterson Elizabeth S3.E5 - "The Hunter"
1960 The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Lucy Tedder S6.E6 - "Big Brother"
1960 The Aquanauts Mimi Newell S1.E9 - "Night Dive"
1960 The Roaring 20's Kathy Potter S1.E6 - "Brother's Keeper"

S1.E7 - "Judge Seward's Secret"
1960, 1961 Michael Shayne Georgia

Marcella Colby
S1.E10 - "Murder Plays Charades"

S1.E29 - "The Trouble with Ernie"
1960, 1961 Gunsmoke Effie

Laura
S6.E14 - "The Cook"

S7.E9 "Milly"
1960 Thriller Kay Salisbury S1.E14 - "Man in the Middle"
1961 Sea Hunt Mary Carter

Liz Brenner

Peg Nicholson
S4.E7 - "Rescue"
S4.E32 - "Superman"

S4.E37 - "Crime at Sea"
1961 The Jim Backus Show Evelyn Darton S1.E21 - "Once Upon A Moose"
1961 Lock Up Peggy Tyler S2.E23 - "Fugitive from Fear"
1961 The Tom Ewell Show Miss McNulty S1.E20 - "Storm Over Shangri-La"
1961 The DuPont Show with June Allyson Ellen Monroe S2.E25 - "The Country Mouse"
1961 The Detectives Jean Morley S2.E27 - "Time for Decision"
1961 Surfside 6 Maggie Littrell S1.E32 - "Spinout at Sebring"
1961, 1965 Bonanza Ann Davis

Ann Fleming

Sue Watson
S4

3.E10 - "The Horse Breaker"

S4 6.E34 - "Patchwork Man"

S7.E9 - "Mighty Is the Word"

1962 Margie Miss Franklin S1.E17 - "A Lesson in Teaching"
1962 Pete and Gladys Helen S2.E27 - "Maternity House"
1962 I'm Dickens, He's Fenster Bianca S1.E6 - "The Acting Game"
1963 Saints and Sinners Ann S1.E15 - "Slug It, Miss Joyous"
1963 The Dakotas Hardi Masters S1.E13 - "Reformation at Big Nose Butte"
1963 Dr. Kildare Emily Gunderson S2.E29 - "The Balance and the Crucible"
1963 The Bill Dana Show Margaret Ann Austin S1.E3 - "Jose the Playboy"
1963 Ripcord Nora Willis S2.E38 - "Wrong Way Down"
1963, 1964, 1965 The Fugitive Jen

Ruth Fisher

Nurse Thompson
S1.E11 - "Nightmare at Northoak"

S2.E4 - "When the Bough Breaks"

S3.E1 - "Wings of an Angel"
1964 Arrest and Trial Maris Hewitt S1.E19 - "Somewhat Lower Than the Angels"
1964 Summer Playhouse Linda "Satan's Waitin'"
1964 Wendy and Me Ruth Harris S1.E7 - "It Takes Two to Tangle"
1965 Profiles in Courage Joan Owens S1.E8 - "Robert A. Taft"
1965 Kraft Suspense Theatre Anne Crane S2.E15 - "Four into Zero"
1965 My Favorite Martian Miss Turner S2.E22 - "Crash Diet"
1965 O.K. Crackerby! Miss Laura Shepherd S1.E3 - "The Griffin Story"
1965 I Spy Louise Richards S1.E9 - "No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise"
1965 The Virginian Sarah Bentley S4.E9 - "Show Me a Hero"
1965 The F.B.I. FBI Clerk S1.E12 - "An Elephant Is Like a Rope"
1967 Vacation Playhouse Ruth S5.E4 - "Heaven Help Us" (final TV role before retirement)

References edit

  1. ^ Rubin, Steven (2017). Twilight Zone Encyclopedia. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61373-891-7. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Mass tomorrow for Sue Randall". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 2, 1984. p. 34. Retrieved July 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940 Population Schedule", digital copy of original April 23, 1940 enumeration page; Marion Randall in household of Roland Randall, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Enumeration District 51-460, sheet 18B, line 56, family 379, U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. Record in National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) retrieved via FamilySearch, February 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Miss Landers, 49, Of 'Leave It To Beaver' Dies Of Cancer". Tyrone Daily Herald. Pennsylvania, Tyrone. United Press International. October 29, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved June 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Germantown High School registry, Lankenau School for Girls (now closed), 1953.
  6. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 1136. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  7. ^ A five-minute segment of the pilot episode of Up on Cloud Nine can be viewed on YouTube.
  8. ^ Lott, Rod (December 2015). TV Turkeys: The World's Worst Television Shows (1987). Video review featured on Flickattack.com; retrieved March 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Fullmp4movie "TV Turkeys -Up on Cloud Nine- Belly Bongo Commercial Video", MrJadedtom, 2012; retrieved March 7, 2017.[unreliable source?]
  10. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 1077. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  11. ^ "One-Timers Only The Rifleman", Biographical information about Sue Randall contained on website devoted to the television series The Rifleman; retrieved March 7, 2017.

External links edit

  • Sue Randall at IMDb